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L'Arche Football Preview brings Nick Saban, former assistants together again (videos, photos)

Alabama head football coach Nick Saban makes remarks at the DEX Imaging L'Arche Football Preview Thursday, May 30, 2013, at the University of South Alabama's Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Brantley/mbrantley@al.com)

MOBILE, Alabama - The DEX Imaging 19th annual L'Arche Football Preview had the potential to become a Nick Saban roast at the Mitchell Center on Thursday night, with the Alabama coach sitting at the head table with Dameyune Craig, Jeremy Pruitt and Phil Savage, all of whom worked under him at some point.

The introduction for Pruitt, who is Florida State's defensive coordinator, noted he'd spent the past three seasons as Alabama's second coach.

Pruitt started his address by saying, "We all know who the real defensive back coach was." Then he looked at Saban.

The panel, which also included South Alabama offensive coordinator Robert Matthews, WKRG-TV's Devon Walsh and the Press-Register's Randy Kennedy, had gathered for the annual fund-raiser for L'Arche, which allows those with intellectual disabilities and those who help them to live and work together in the Mobile community. The event attracted nearly 800 people to the Mitchell Center.

Pruitt said when he was asked to stand in for Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher and found out it was a Mobile function with 800 people expected, "I said it's 'L'Arche or coach Saban's speaking -- one of the two.' And it's both."

With so many of his former assistants spread throughout the football world, such as those at the L'Arche banquet, Saban was asked about being a mentor.

"I've had some great mentors," he said. "I don't feel like one of them myself. My mentors were older. I don't really feel older, but I guess I'm getting there."

Pruitt still recruits the Mobile area, but now for FSU instead of Alabama. After he'd made his pitch on one of his first recruiting visits for Florida State, Pruitt asked the player if he had any questions.

"Yes, sir. Can you tell me about Alabama?" was the player's reply. Pruitt turned to Saban, who was seated at his right tonight, and said: "Coach, I'm still recruiting for you - a little bit."

"One thing I figured out is that if you don't have an A for Alabama or an A for Auburn," Pruitt said, "they don't like you nearly as much."

The Seminoles have gotten some prospects out of Mobile, though. Quarterback Jacob Coker of St. Paul's and defensive end Chris Casher of Davidson will challenge for starting positions in the 2013 season, and FSU signed Nate Andrews from Fairhope and Wilson Bell from Blount in February.

Pruitt thanked Craig for the Mobilians on the FSU roster. Craig spent the previous three seasons on the Seminoles staff before returning to Auburn, where he was a star quarterback, to become the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach under Gus Malzahn.

Craig credited Saban with his success as a recruiter.

"I think I had a great foundation," Craig said. "My first college job was with coach Saban, and he didn't know it, but I just sat back and soaked in everything he would do."

Craig channeled Saban when he began talking about "the process" -- in this case, the work needed to rebuild Auburn after the Tigers' 3-9 2012 campaign.

But Craig has been down this road previously with Auburn. The Tigers were 5-5 the season that he signed, then went 35-12-1 in his four seasons.

Craig said he went to Auburn to play because he wanted to make a difference: "Now I'm back in the same situation."

Craig said he knows Auburn can turn it around after a productive spring practice and an inspiring spring game. He said walking onto the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium with 84,000 in the stands for the spring game was "the first time I ever got nervous in that stadium." Craig called it "one of the top five moments in Auburn football," saying it "gave the players a ton of confidence. ... I think that spring game was the best thing that happened in Auburn football in a long time."

Craig said the goal of spring practice was for the Tigers "to get our edge back."

"The players now understand our expectations," he said "We want them to be mentally tough and we want them to be physically tough to play in the toughest conference in college football."

Saban knew what Craig was talking about with the power of a spring-game crowd to inspire a program.

"When I first went to Alabama six years ago," Saban said, "and walked out and saw 90,000 at the spring game, it made me know from that level of energy, that kind of enthusiasm, we could accomplish something special."

Saban's teams have gone on to win three of the past four BCS national championship games. He said people who say winning the first championship is the hardest are wrong.

"It's much more difficult to win your next one," he said. "As human beings, we don't seem to have our best days after our best days. We seem to have our best days after our worst days."

Saban said continued success and human nature don't mix well. Where last year's team took the challenge to be accountable and gave Alabama back-to-back BCS titles, the current team "has been a little more difficult. Complacency. Why do the mighty fall? It's complacency."

"This has been a little more of a challenge, a work in progress," Saban said of preparing the 2013 team. "The key will be the leadership of the team and how that continues to develop."

Saban agreed with Craig and Pruitt about the importance of the Mobile area in recruiting. One of the Crimson Tide's local players is All-American linebacker CJ Mosley, who bypassed leaving for the NFL to return for his senior season.

"We're happy to have him back," Saban said. "He's probably one of the most athletic, physical players we've ever had at that position."

Saban noted the relationship between the increase of Coastal Alabama players on the Alabama roster from one when he arrived to more than a dozen now and the Crimson Tide's improvement.

"One of the biggest differences in our program and the success of our program," Saban said, "is the success we've had recruiting in the Mobile area."